The glorious Tutor Hall of Fame, created to recognize and honor our distinguished STEP tutors at the UAlbany STEP Club. This page is dedicated to their dedication on devotion to the STEP Program. As time goes on, their names will live on.

Fall 2012 Induction

Nancy Herrera

Major: Psychology Minor: Education/SociologyPosition: Tutor

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself" -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

I am graduating with a major in psychology and a double minor in education and sociology. I hope to start graduate school in the fall of 2013. I was interested in working with the STEP Program because I love to help students. As an aspiring guidance counselor, I want to one day have the ability to be an influence in peoples' lives as others have done with my life.

Nancy was one of the most radiant tutors that graced our program. She always had a special way to set the environment with her laughs, or with one of her “HI’s.” Nancy was with STEP since 2011 when she was simply a volunteer for the program. She later became a paid tutor because of her devotion to the program and the students that she tutored. In 2012, Nancy was vital as a tutor to the STEP Program when we re-launched the after school program at Albany High School, which is known as the UAlbany STEP Club. Her devotion to the students made her the backbone to the program by tutoring at the club every programming day and she tutored during Saturday programming. We drew upon Nancy once again in her final undergraduate semester. She assisted us in everything because she created her schedule around us. She helped out in the STEP office; assisted us on college tours, participated in Shadow Day, tutored at the STEP Club and Saturday Program, and helped the Green Tech Seniors get ready for college. She was definitely a “busy bee.” Nancy will always be remembered here at STEP for the dedication, service and laughs she provided. We at STEP are forever appreciative of Nancy, and can never find anyone like her. She has touched many lives in her time working with us and will touch many more as she continues on her path. We know that wherever her endeavors take her, she will succeed because of her passion and vision. Thank you so much Nancy for all you have given us!

Spring 2013 Induction

Patrick Piedra

I go the University at Albany and I'm currently part of CSTEP, STEP and Project Excel. I'm planning on being a mathematics professor after getting my PhD in mathematics . I currently minor in computer science at UAlbany. Besides being a tutor for the STEP After school Program, I am also a teaching assistant for a computer science class and I shadow a math professor.

Enough facts about education. Usually if I'm not drowning in my work, I'm playing soccer or tossing around a frisbee. I love making people laugh and making jokes. Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm extremely loud. I'm quite obnoxious but I'm very easy to get along with. I listen to a lot of music, any genre from heavy metal to pop and rap. I'm a big fan of going to concerts and just acting very ridicoiucsly animated.

Usually during my summers I am a camp counselor near my hometown. It's my 7th year working there and I usually work with 4 and 5 year olds; so it kind of explains why I act the way I do. I love just being a fool and joking around.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend; Patrick Piedra. Legend has it that Patrick came to us during a dark time at our afterschool program. Students at the high school were learning slope, and we did not any tutors that could effectively teach and tutor slope. Patrick stumbled into our office thru CSTEP and the only question that was asked of him was: “Do you know slope?” He simply answered yes, and the rest is history. From the beginning, Patrick took on a major role at the STEP Program. He spearheaded math at Albany High School with his math wizardry. He spoke wise words to students during college panels and during college seminars at Green Tech Charter High School. Even when he was busy, Patrick was always willing to help out the program. Patrick definitely had this “it “ factor about him. He was always able to create a positive environment for the youth on a whim with is wits, and good jokes and that is something we will miss. Patrick graduated from the University at Albany with honors and will be attending the University at Binghamton for the PH.D program in Mathematics. Though we will have big shoes to fill by Patrick leaving us, he set the bar higher for what we expect from our STEP student staff. We are forever thankful for Patrick stumbling into our office nearly two years ago. We wish him the best on his endeavors.

Pertrice Sennon

My main goal in life is to become the best person I can be. I love learning new things and sharing my knowledge with others. I find it interesting to explore the world in all of its elements, especially mathematically and scientifically. My current career goals are to go into internal medicine. The mysteries of the human body intrigue me and I'm always anxious to help others in need.

Other than medicine, math and science, my passions vary from puzzle building and photography to rocking out to my own musical mix to mellowing down by indulging in a really good book. Life is just filled with all these small bursts of happiness that all that really matters to me are the little things. And I always believed that the little things are the ones that make the biggest difference.

The Triple Threat: Pertrice Sennon. Pertrice was a truly remarkable tutor for she could EASILY tutor math, chemistry and biology; to her it was like breathing. If you ever attended the STEP Afterschool program at Albany High School you would see Petrice multitasking with students because of her wide knowledge of the STEM fields. So you would always see her with 3 to 4 students at a time; most tutors would be overwhelmed but never Pertrice; she always embraced the challenge and did it with ease. One thing that we appreciated about Pertrice was her passion. She was very passionate about her job and you could easily see that. She was always strived to do better for the program and the students that she tutored. The best part about it was that the students could easily see that, and they loved her for it.Besides her astute knowledge of the STEM fields, Pertrice was a founder of the STEP AHS Afterschool Program National pastime: UNO. Pertrice could play a mean game of UNO, and you always knew she was playing because she would shout: “ Nope!!, two for your mistakes.” Pertrice, we are grateful for everything you’ve contributed to the program, and we will miss you. As long as there is a afterschool program, we will carry on the tradition of UNO.

Maxwell Larbi

I am STEP but i'm also a stepper."I'm a tutor in the STEP program. I'm currently a senior in University of Albany majoring in Physics. I tutor in Science and Mathematics. Being a former STEP student for six years I'm understand and relate to the value that the STEP program provides to the students thus giving personal example and life lessons learned there. I'm a upbeat and well inform charismatic individual with alot to offer. Not only am I a tutor I also involved in other organizations. One of my favorite organizations is Organized Chaos, a step team on Suny Albany. We perform in competitions and performances in and out of the Albany area thus the quote in beginning. So if you ever have math or science problem come to me or if you ever wanna learn to step I can teach you too. I hope to me you all soon.

Maxwell, A.K.A Happy Feet, the STEP tutor that steps. Maxwell began apart of the STEP program during the STEP Summer Institute as a volunteer; which already speaks volumes about him. He later became a paid staff member that fall and the rest is history. Maxwell was one of the founding student staff of the STEP Albany High School Afterschool program. He contributed a lot of his time to the program during that pilot year, and he definitely set the foundation for the great program it has become currently. Besides being the founding member of the afterschool program, Maxwell is the pioneer for the afterschool program’s national pastime: UNO. Maxwell carried a lot of things in his backpack and apparently for some odd reason he was carrying UNO. One day he asked if we could play it with the kids, everyone liked it and the rest is history. UNO is so popular with STEP, that even the tutors play it after hours. The thing that made Maxwell special was his humility. Maxwell was always humble at STEP and students and staff gravitated towards him. Always kind, and courteous; we will miss him and we thank Maxwell for the wonderful years that he contributed to the STEP Program. We are confident that wherever he goes, he will be valued and appreciated.

Pascale M.

Major: Public HealthPosition: TutorWorkday: Wednesday

I enjoy helping people. I really feel that helping people is my main goal in life. I like mathematics and science, especially chemistry. I am a PTCB-certified pharmacy technician and I used to sing soprano in high school. I like cooking food, reading health articles, going to church and watching comedies. In my college career, I studied biochemistry before changing majors to public health. Through studying public health, I am using my knowledge in science while learning how smart behavioral choices, monitoring risks, using policies and laws, and understanding environmental factors can help a population become healthier. Life is a web of diversity and I enjoy how my Christian faith, volunteering, college life, biochemistry and public health has given me a diverse background that can enable me to help many people in different ways. I am most grateful that I can help students through the UAlbany STEP Program. You are the future!! Thank You for the opportunity!!

Pascale was probably the most energetic tutor that’s ever graced our program. It did not matter what type of day it was, Pascale would have a smile on her face and had energy to go. She had more energy than the Energizer Bunny and that was truly amazing. There would be days, when the staff and students were feeling down, or tired, and Pascale would wake and cheer everyone up with her jokes, laughter and bubbly nature.

We truly appreciate Pascale’s involvement with the STEP Program, especially on Saturdays when she was working with the middle school students. She made math enjoyable by developing the mini-game: Math Challenge. She expanded people's view on health by discussing nutrition. Her blog posts about college and college preparation were truly on point and were great to read!. We are appreciative of the passion and energy that she brought to the job, for it cannot be replicated. We wish Pascale the best with her future endeavors.

Michael Browne

I'm a 90's baby. Love sitting, relaxing and watching an episode of Hey Arnold while working on my Bill Cosby impersonation (maybe if you're nice to me, I'll give you a five second demo!) I play football for the University at Albany Great Danes, strong safety. Don't let my height fool you :p I studied abroad in Spain this past summer, so I like to think I'm fluent! I like to keep the atmosphere light, fun and relaxed. So, that being said, let's have fun, do some work and share some laughs!

The Talented Mr. Browne a.k.a Mr. International. Michael is the type of person who’s focus would allow them to do anything that they want, and he surely did. While balancing the lifestyle of a college athlete (football), Michael was also studying communications, business administration and Spanish, while also being a wonderful STEP mentor and tutor. He was able to balance everything and excel at it, which allowed him to a be terrific role model for the students, especially our young males at Green Tech Charter High School. Students we’re like “We wanna be like Mike.” One special thing about Mr. Browne was his charisma. This was evident when he would speak to high school students about his pathway into college, his college experience and life of a collegiate athlete. Mike’s words would attract the interest of students whereas others would fall on deaf ears. His testimonials about life would inspire others to do better and excel, which was a true blessing! His charismatic words will take him far. Where will Mr. Browne go? Anywhere where he chooses. Wherever he goes, he will be appreciated and valued because of how talented he is. We at STEP, truly wish Michael the best, and hope that he continues to inspire the youth wherever he goes.

Ginny Nunez

My name is Ginny Nunez. I am a senior at the University at Albany. I am a Criminal Justice Major and a French and Education Minor. During my spare time I like to read cheesy romance novels (not involving old people) and crocheting. When I have a lot of free time I like to write. My favorite music, besides good ol’ Pop music, is Country and Bachata. My favorite movie is Grease and Cruel Intentions. I have various TV Shows that I like so I sum it up to Reality TV and Prime Time USA and ABC shows. I am graduating UAlbany this May and hopefully moving on to Law School. I aspire to be a big shot lawyer in NYC or D.C. For now I’m just studying my way through it.

“Maxwell, what’s my name?”“Jenny”“No, it’s Ginny.”LOL Though she came on to staff in the spring, Ginny was an amazing asset to the STEP Program. Ginny played a vital role with the AVID Program, for they need more assistance during the school year and she gladly accepted. She assisted the students with writing research papers for their stance on the Stand Your Ground law. In addition to that, she helped facilitate a workshop about the pathways into college and exploring a career choice. This was truly beneficial to the program because AVID is all about college preparation. The students enjoyed her time being there, for they saw they the giant heart she has for the youth. She may be coy about it sometimes, but Ginny has the biggest heart for the youth and it can easily seen. Ginny graduated from the University at Albany with honors and will be attending law school at Penn State. We wish Ginny the best, and hopes she continues to help out the youth.

Mark Stevens

Hobby/InterestsI love to play video games, basketball, and football. Last semester I used to work out every day and every hour, but senior year came along. I also like mentoring students because I believe that every student has the ability to succeed, it is a matter of putting the time and effort into completing a task.Major/MinorI transfered from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and switched my major to Economics because I wanted to learn about the economy. Also, minored in business because I thought it would enhance my skills as an economics major. Unfortunately, I don't like my major and fell in love with business.Favorite music/Movie/TV Show: Reggae/Friday/King of QueensAcademic/Career GoalsShort term goals are to obtain an internship with a company for the summer and get into Graduate School for a Masters in Business. I am not too sure my goals as of yet, however I do want to do something business related mainly with computers and once I get into graduate school more doors will open for me to possibly pick a career.Something extremely witty about yourselfI am cheap. I count the prices of every item in the shopping cart at Walmart before I buy something and my heart skips a beat when I see how much I have to swipe.

Mark like a few rare others was apart of the STEP Program as a volunteer. He contributed his time to the program by speaking on college panels to high school students. He later became a paid staff member in the spring and it has been a great experience working with Mark. He’s driven and ambitious about his future and career, which makes him a great person to be around, because all they can do is to inspire you to do the same. Everytime you’d see Mark, you’d see him studying for his GMAT. Mark really got to shine and spread his wisdom during college tours and at Green Tech Charter High School. He spoke about his college experience; life was a transfer student and his dream profession to work in business. His testimonials about college were always great because his experience was a different pathway and not all high school students get to hear that side of the story.We hope to see more of Mark, as he plans to stay at the University and obtain his MBA degree. We miss Mark the best, and we are confident that he will excel in his field!

Jared Spaulding

1. Your hobby/ interests I’m an adequate guitar player. I’ve got a blue, Mexican Fender Stratocaster, some sweet effects and a tube amp that goes to ‘11’. I used to have an red Epiphone SG with a beautiful finish that you could see the wood grain through, but I had to sell it to buy school books….which is ok because school is more important than hobbies. I like to have impromptu jam sessions with friends and I play regularly at my church. Recently, I have embraced the nerd in me and have gotten into popular science books. I also love science fiction and anything by Dostoyevsky, among other things. I have a ton of books that I have either not finished or have not even started yet. I got a Kindle for Christmas and, since there are so many good free books online, the number of unread books I own just keeps going up. That’s a good problem to have as long as you keep reading. 2. Major/Minors I am a double major in Physics and Mathematics. That feels like more than enough work for me, so I don’t have a minor. I don’t know what I would be a minor in anyway. I guess being a CompSci minor would be helpful. All I know is that I definitely wouldn’t want to be a Chilean Miner. Get it? It’s a pun. You see, I was talking about academic minors which are “a college or university student's declared secondary field of study or specialization during his or her undergraduate studies” (Wikipedia) and then I changed it to the occupation miner. I said Chilean miners specifically because there was a group of them that were stuck underground for 69 days and I don’t think I could handle that. Funny, right? 3. Favorite music/Movie/ TV Show I listen to a lot of classic rock because you gotta love the classics. I also listen to some Christian rock, which isn’t as bad as it sounds, but I might be a little biased. Some of my favorite artists include: Led Zeppelin, Bon Iver, Jars of Clay, Jonny Lang, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Relient K, Bob Dylan, Audio Adrenaline, The Band, and the list goes on and on. I’m not a big fan of most pop music nowadays simply because I don’t like drum machines with loud bass drums emphasizing the obvious beat to make the song easier to “dance” to, overused synthesizers that play simple I-IV-V chord progressions but cover it up with “wacky techno sounds”, auto-tune instead of talent, and vapid, contrived lyrics generated by what I can only guess is a robot (or team of robots?) trying to learn basic human emotions and can only regurgitate clichés and nonsensical ramblings, but I digress. Forms of entertainment are limited when you’re from a small town and the closest mall is an hour away. You either rent movies or throw rocks at ducks. After all the ducks disappeared mysteriously, all we had left was renting movies. So I’ve seen a lot of movies―some good, many bad. I like sci-fi, horror, comedy, action, (romantic comedies…although I would never admit it outside of these parentheses), basically any genre. My favorites include: Alien, The Exorcist, The Dark Knight, Spaceballs, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and many other movies…..so many movies. I watch too much TV too. I like Big Bang Theory (of course :P), The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, The Simpsons, Tosh.0, The Colbert Report, Scrubs, The Office, Battlestar Galactica, and others. I usually watch them online because, honestly, who watches stuff on TV anymore? 4. Academic/ Career Goals My goal as of now is to graduate in May. After that I hope to attend grad school for physics/engineering and get my PhD. Then I’d like to do some research, maybe discover something cool (the Spaulding Effect? Spaulding Radiation? A new element – Spauldingium? A new species - Spauldingia procrastinaticus? Who knows?), and get a Nobel Prize. Eventually, I’d like to become a college professor and teach physics. Because physics is phun! 5. Or something extremely witty about yourself Is the above enough?

The Ageless Wonder, Jared Spaulding. Jared was another gift that the University at Albany gave us, for he is definitely beyond his time…or maybe he was sent from the future, regardless, Jared was the man. We’re not too sure if he had amazing time management skills or could just simply slow down time, but he always time for everything and everybody. When he was not busy tutoring college students about physics, he was mentoring and tutoring high school students about physics and life sciences…Oh when he wasn’t busy with that he was the President of the Physics Club, which made us wonder if Jared either A: did his homework or B: ever slept. What we truly appreciated about Jared was his pursuit for knowledge and sharing it with others. Jared could go from person to person and could talk to them about anything. His conversations would either enlighten you or make you question for more, which is truly wonderful. Jared like a lot of other UAlbany undergraduates will never leave the college campus because he was accepted for the PH.D program in Physics at the University at Albany. It is our hope to steal some of Jared’s time when he’s not too busy with his academia. Jared, we’re proud of you and congratulations. We know that you will master the PH.D program because “physics is easy.”

Deidre Pinkerton

It always an enigma how a person so interesting could be so quiet..and that was Deidre. What is there to say about Deidre? Hmmm well she was part ninja, part tutor; 100 percent cool. She would always gracefully sneak into the programming room and not say a word…. which could lead to many surprises if you were an administrator. She was really shy when she first came to the program, but opened up and the staff and students enjoyed being around her. Besides only sitting in two spots during the whole year, the one thing that we’ll remember about Deidre is the positivity that she brought to the program. Though she was quiet, she was always polite, courteous and always had a smile on her face. Traits like that always keep the room’s atmosphere light, positive and enriching. Because of her nature she was able to connect with students that were quiet or nervous at the program. We hope that after leaving the STEP Program, that Deidre would continue down her path of being an educator because we feel that she would make a great one! Her positive and non-judgmental nature would make her the perfect teacher! Deidre, we wish you the best!